My name is Bonnie Mary Freeman. I am a survivor of a pandemic called the bloodhound disease. During this time, I was only thirteen years old, in the 50s. Now, we have a cure for the bloodhound disease, but we didn’t back in the day. Back in the day, we had no cure. We only had hope. Hoping that we could overcome the disease. I was living with my ma and pa with my little brothers, Jekyll and Henry, and my baby sister, Molly. We lived in a tiny house with tiny rooms. Tiny windows, a tiny bathtub, a tiny space—tiny everything. I have already started my women's cycle, so it was very hard to have my personal space. It was a pain living with two brothers, but now that I think about it, being with them right now is all I ever wanted.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eRLKvZyKI
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7F9xxJ5FR
The bloodhound disease is a deadly disease that takes over your mind in a matter of days. It will turn you into a bloodthirsty “hound”, as people call it. The disease never came from an animal or hound at all, actually. It came from a red flower. People still sell these flowers in the market now that we have the vaccines, the cures, and the medicine, which I find very172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AUDpktAmi
offencive. People died because of this flower, making them murder their families and eating them like a fresh piece of meat from the nearest butcher! And they are selling the cause of the whole pandemic at the local supermarket? We are in the COVID pandemic now, and a lot of people have died, and I’m sure the people who died belonged to families. What if they sold free COVID "Sprites," drinks, merchandise, or the source of the COVID illness? That is what it feels like to me.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRFgKsmdvP
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPedm07ViW
Ahem, now on with the story of “Hell" as I call it. It all started when we were watching television—me and my two brothers, Jekyll and Henry. Ma was cooking dinner while she watched baby Molly, and Pa was reading the newspaper, grumbling. Pa used to grumble a lot when he was reading the newspapers.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyId10DNujH
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajWB2FVUpC
He would make this sound if he found something to his liking: "Mm! grumble grumble.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78C1gyVGk6
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGFOwSAY9P
And he would make this sound if he was mad about something in the newspapers: "grumble, grumble.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYXGoNMyPI
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2aWCl2Zhi
Every time he grumbles about something bad, I can’t help but be nosey.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrDQ2iTRFj
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKXSv95V7g
“What is it, Pa?” I say.
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrmzP5D5Xs
“Ah..” He coughs. "The newspaper says people are getting sick.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxPifr1Hed
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwu6XayRPr2
“But everyone gets sick." I say this while still looking at the television.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkks3HH0YV
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrskM8Xg0cI
“Yeah, I know, darling. But people are getting sick.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkronW1Parj
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BP4PAh9Rk
“With what? A fever?”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoi71DAHS0
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Tl0IXNnzc
“Most likely.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1hYykKmap
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBXS7ugRle
Pa coughs again and goes back to reading his newspaper. Me and my family never really thought about the fevers that were spreading across the world. Until hell broke loose. There were news reports days later. Explaining that people who were sick at home had murdered their families. Of course I knew this information, but not from the adults. The adults thought it was best for us kids to not know about this bad information. But they gave me my own radio to listen to the news. The news explained that people ate their families. Cannibalism! Can you believe it? These people are committing cannibalism! Why? I questioned everything the news told me. I was afraid. But I blamed the people who ate their families. I thought it was some kind of cult, eating people and sacrificing for Satan. But no, I was wrong. These people never meant to hurt their families. But, of course, we didn’t know that until later.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcajEH7KqN
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXEUO8zS9e
More and more people kept getting sick. People were getting red spots on their eyeballs. This was not a fever; doctors said that this was a disease. They don’t know what to call it, but the world was dealing with a deadly disease. More and more people died from this disease. The news said that scientists brought sick people into their experiment lab to test the disease to know if we have a cure and the stages of this sickness.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cmw9HvlNs
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4hAUt3YT8
People swarmed the supermarkets as soon as they opened up. Cleaning supplies were out of stock, and food shelves were empty. Luckily, we have a friend who works at the local market. He got us what we needed, and then we went home. When we got home, Ma was crying.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeFemVZ4ba
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q5FjUlvxK
“Ma! What is wrong?" I say, grabbing Molly from her.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMjyOKxqWR
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecF4WGgv81
“Oh Bonnie! Your grandmother has died because of this awful disease! Your grandfather,” Ma cries harder, choking on her tears. “He ate her, and it left this awful mess! I had to run out before he could capture me! He grabbed me by the wrist and bit me!”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyVByQuMGx
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7k25wwoP1X
Pa’s face was pale after hearing Ma’s story. Pa was fixing up Ma’s injured arm while I took care of Molly. Jekyll and Henry were worried about Ma while at the same time asking for details about what happened. Molly was confused. Well, of course she’s confused; she's a baby. She only turned one year old a month ago.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVxUyDiCpC
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85u0PU22aO
We got an update weeks later after scientists tested the sick people who had the disease. The scientist said that all the people who had the disease act like they are not humans anymore. They act like hounds who want meat. Blood. Flesh. Human Flesh. They called the disease, The bloodhound disease. The bloodhound disease will grow in your body until it has control over your brain. It will only take 4-6 days for it to reach your brain. If it reaches your brain, you turn into a monster. A bloodhound. You get red eyes, vomiting blood, rotting skin, and growing, nasty, sharp teeth. Symptoms Before the virus takes full control of your body, you will have these gross red spots in your eyes, and you will vomit blood.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7MombVRrR
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPdWxTwuJE
I and my family were terrified. The disease became so bad, you could see bloodhounds in the streets. Many people died and became infected. We had no choice but to hide in our home, hoping to God that none of us were sick.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgc5tMcTqrh
Mom prayed every second of the day, Dad took care of the boys, and I had to watch over Molly. Molly’s cries pierced my ears, and I covered them. When Molly cried, it made me and the boys want to cry, so we all cried.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYTtp5Yddf
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfM9xs27n3
“I WANNA GO TO THE PARK!" Jekyll cried out.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Jh6Znxm4H
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7RgxCjOo4
We were all cramped in this tiny house, afraid.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6A8a3Vqhp
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXjSq6yv2f
We figured out that mom was infected, and we locked her in the room. Dad cried while dragging her into the room. He touched Ma, and now he’s infected, which means they are most likely to die. I knew this, and it made me cry in my room for hours. My parents were going to turn into bloodhounds, and there was no cure for stopping it. I had to take care of my siblings. Clean the dishes, dress up Molly and the boys, cook, and clean the house. Whatever a mother would do!172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6vUuwg4T4
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkqIRbHflh
Molly would cry and cry because her mother was nowhere to be seen. But I knew where she was. In her room, locked up with Pa. The suspense was killing me. I knew that my parents would turn into bloodhounds, break down the door, and eat us all. Ma and Pa were so sick, they couldn’t talk anymore. It has been four days.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhurARg9Blf
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaShFXeAXOc
I hear growling from behind the door. Molly cries, alerting my parents, and breaks down the door! I ran, grabbing the boys and running towards the front door. My parents were on all fours, their mouths dripping with blood from eating each other. Their flesh was rotten and bitten off by each other. It was a scary sight. Seeing your own parents become these horrid monsters. Molly cries, and I shut the door in time before they can get out. I felt relieved that we all got out of the house in time. But a loud bang hit against the door,denting it. I knew the door wouldn’t hold them, so I put Molly in my overalls, grabbed both my brothers hands, and ran. We didn’t know where to run, but we just ran. Molly wasn’t crying anymore; she was just confused about why we were running. A bloodhound bit Henry’s leg and made Henry fall. I stopped to save him, but it was too late, and we had to keep running. Tears fell from my eyes, and I grabbed Jekyll’s hand and began running again.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGLcLfRlIf
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LImRDLISR
Moments later, we were safe. Me and Jekyll were crying because our brother had died. Both our parents have died. And most likely, we will all die. We were just kids! I didn’t think that we could survive. We didn’t have food or water, so the next day I left Molly with Jekyll to go back into the house quietly and get our food supplies. I left our house with a large machete I found in someone's garage and hoped not to get in the way of a bloodhound. I finally made it to our house and heard nothing. I went into the house, and I saw my parents sleeping on the floor, snoring and drooling. I sweated and wanted to cry. I didn't want my parents to be like this. They didn’t deserve it. So I got my machete and stabbed my mother in the chest, feeling a rush of adrenaline through my body. The bloodhound cried out and alerted my dad, so I slashed his face, hoping it would stop him. I stabbed my mom a few times, ending the bloodhound's life. My dad was growling at me and slowly backing me up into a corner. I gripped my machete, afraid. It wasn’t easy stabbing my own mother, and I didn’t want to stab my father either. Luckily, I didn’t need to stab him dead because a bullet shot him down through the window. I was shocked. An old man climbed through the window. He looked at me and said,172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqxBhhnwgq
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFEJBgzssd
“Hey little girl, Are you okay?"172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BPbAHOWDr
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyWl1FLsVY
I nodded and said, "Are they dead?”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4QBiDmkxW
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLiCYwkpMs
“Yes ma’am. These sons of bitches don’t stand a chance with my shotgun here.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxfJtp5XsV
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgHgPVmQ55
I stood still for a few seconds and started crying my eyes out. The old man rubbed my back and comforted me. I got the food and supplies we needed to survive and told the old man that the bloodhounds were my parents. He helped me bury them in the backyard and put flowers on their graves. Then we walked back to where my brother and sister were. The old man had a dog; it looked old with droopy ears and wrinkles on its face.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrTNqcCiPI
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjh9vDzIGmC
“This is Charlie, my dog; he’s a bloodhound. A bloodhound is a type of dog."172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwasOzEs67
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShQjh46Ai9
“Oh, that’s unfortunate for Charlie to be a bloodhound.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNXoFtxA00
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5BHK5HNsM
We saw Molly and Jekyll together, hiding in an empty building. We eat, get dressed in new clothes, and sit down on the floor.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aaviTdAsn
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkv5AF9FeEH
“What now?” I ask the old man.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvC9Z20imO
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡze485Oqteu
Molly was playing with the dog, poking his nose and biting his ears. The dog didn’t mind it, though.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3K8Pczanrn
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWaLIxHhIA
“We survive.” The old man says172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvMy21GBLc
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6AA7KNOor
Jekyll was asleep already, and Molly was asleep by the dog. I looked at Molly, Jekyll, and then my hands. And I remembered what I was thinking at that moment: If another one of us is going to die, I have already lost my parents and Henry. I don’t need to lose Molly or Jekyll.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwswo8HzVp
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzfyrWceLU
We went on for a few years, surviving. One,two,three,four, five, and six years, trying not to die. The old man was raising us and teaching us how to defend each other and how to shoot a gun. I was nineteen, while Jekyll was twelve, and Molly was seven. We learned how to stay on high alert for bloodhounds and to kill people who have the sickness but haven’t turned into bloodhounds yet.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCeGyIAH3D
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gzqsasdM1
One day, the old man told me that the government had found a cure to the bloodhound disease and that we needed to evacuate as quickly as possible because they were going to nuke the world. When I heard this information, I was confused. Nuke!? The world?! We’ll all die! We all ran out of town, which took several days! Until the day the bomb hits the world. Molly stared at the sky and pointed at a big bomb falling from the sky.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWRMAdosIs
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2GNs1KWoc
“RUN!!” Jekyll said hopping on Charlie’s back and making Charlie run. I picked up Molly and ran. But the old man couldn’t run fast enough! I put Molly on the ground.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt36FEGTuGc
“RUN MOLLY! RUN!” I screamed.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5xgJBMvjL
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwCmo5us4j
Molly ran away while I helped the old man. “Come on! let’s go! We don't have much time!” I said while tears fell.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJaghRh94W
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9gflMrscY
“Bonnie! Bonnie, it’s okay. Leave me here. Go live your life; take Charlie with you!” The old man said this, pushing me away and coughing up blood.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KIrbERD6b
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlobQHANH1
“Your..infected..you touched me!” I said, crying more.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAISsvGZOiv
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQnt76noJG
A big bang erupted. It felt like everything was in slow motion. And then there was black.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF89BS0yoKO
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIotkqp9a6
We didn’t die. But we heard later on that the government didn’t bomb an explosion. They bombed the cure all over the world. We all survived.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02S9heHOBD
172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7wekYSqNA
Now we're all old. And I’m here telling you this story about how I survived. My time here on earth is nearly done. So I want the reader to remember one thing: Don’t smell red flowers.
